LG scraps Android 2.2 tablet plans, waits for 3.0

Google is still tweaking Android to provide best performance on tablets.

LG on Monday said that it won't release a Google Android tablet this year, but instead it would wait for a future iteration of the OS, according to a Reuters report. Earlier this year LG announced plans to join the tablet bandwagon, and abandoned a tablet prototype based on Windows 7, but it seems the company's Android tablet has hit some snags along the road too.

An unnamed LG official told Reuters that Android 2.2, also known as Froyo, is not the most suitable version of Google's Android operating system for it tablet plans. Instead, LG is now said to be in talks with Google over a more reliable of the OS, probably Android 3.0, which slated to arrive only next year.

In a related report, Bloomberg quotes another unnamed LG executive saying that the company, the third-largest mobile phone maker, is actually focusing on iPhone rivals, something that delayed LG's Android tablet. Apparently LG has the tablet's hardware ready, but it is still working on the software, the report says.

Android 2.2 -- Not Ready For Tablets?

Although several tablets have been shown running Froyo, Google says the OS is just not ready for this type of devices. Because of that, many Android tablets don't come with Google's app store, the Android Market, either. One exception however is the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which is basically a Galaxy S smartphone with a 7-inch screen.

Because it has 3G connectivity and calling capabilities (enabled only in Europe), the Tab runs the Android Market, but despite Samsung's efforts to optimize the OS, problems remain. Electronista notes that when in landscape orientation the small onscreen keyboard on the Galaxy Tab left a blank space on each flank.

Toshiba, Acer, HTC, and Motorola are expected to launch Android when Google delivers version 3.0 of its operating system. Details on Android 3.0 features are very sketchy at the moment, and neither Google nor any manufacturer has said whether their Android 3.0 tablets will arrive in time for this holiday season, or in early 2011 at the Consumer Electronics Show.

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